Apr 10, 2013

It's 80° today, perfect day for grilling so I thought I would highlight this recipe from the archives. Turkey burgers with a cayenne pepper kick! Here's a fun way to turn boring turkey burgers into something with a little more exciting. If you're a buffalo wing fan, you'll love the flavors in this turkey burger topped with a broccoli slaw tossed with my very own homemade blue cheese dressing.

Someone recently emailed me and gave me this idea, she took my zucchini turkey burger recipe and dipped it in hot sauce after. I decided to add it to the turkey meat instead, and figured you can always serve more on the side if you wish!

And by the way, there's carrots in these burgers but I promise, you can't even tell. It's a great way to add more fiber and vegetables into your diet whether it's for yourself or your family.

I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to spicy food, so Frank's hot sauce is perfect for my taste, but if you really like it hot you could use Tabasco or your favorite cayenne hot sauce.

To make these burgers gluten free, you can sub the breadcrumbs for gluten-free oats.

Heat a large skillet on high heat. When hot, lightly spray the oil. Add burgers to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low.

Cook on one side until browned 4-5 minutes, then flip. Cook another 4 minutes or until burgers are cooked all the way through (keep heat medium-low to prevent burning); top with cheese and place on a toasted burger buns topped with broccoli slaw.

If grilling, clean grill well before cooking and spray with oil spray to prevent sticking.

Freezer Tip: To freeze raw, place them on a baking sheet with wax paper in between, when frozen transfer to ziplock bags.

To freeze cooked, you can fully cook them, then freeze in ziplock bags for quick meals; to re-heat you can microwave or thaw first then place on a skillet.

173 comments
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Great minds think alike! I made a Buffalo Chicken Burger a few weeks ago and your pics have my mouthwatering and me craving it all over again! You can never go wrong with the hot sauce blue cheese combo!

I love your turkey burger recipes. Ever since I started making recipes from your website, I've never used ground beef. And I've been getting creative about what vegetables to put into a turkey burger to make it more nutritious. Will definitely have to give this a try, but minus the 'slaw, but a huge fan of it.

Broccoli slaw can be bought in a bag in the produce section. It's normally where the shredded cabbage is for regular coleslaw and the lettuces. It's really good! (It also goes great to add a little crunch to fish tacos!)

I love this website! I've been feeding my "meat and potatoes" boyfriend your recipes and he doesn't even know we're eating healthy. A doc recently suggested I go gluten-free, something I've never paid attention to, so I'm even more grateful for your wonderful suggestions on adapting your recipes to be GF!

This will be great Gina, I have been making Buffalo Turkey burgers for 6 years now, my husband found a Rachel Ray recipe that is a hit at our house. Very similar to what you have here but celery is the veggie to mix it. Also it has grill seasoning and poultry seasoning in the patty as well. I'll make sure to try your Creamy Blue Cheese dressing + broccoli slaw next time we make them.

I made this recipe last night and it was HANDS DOWN the most delicious, well-rounded meal I've made in a long time. Five patties were perfect for my starving husband (he gets home late after 2 jobs and working out) and me (1 w/bun, 1 w/out). The dressing was so good I added extra broccoli slaw to stretch it out so I could have it for lunch today. Thanks again- I would PAY to have access to your site, fyi. :-)

oh, I wish I thought of adding hot sauce to the mix. I just made your turkey zucchini burgers over the weekend. They were delicious as is, but this sounds even more amazing! Do you have a ranch dressing recipe? I'm not much of a fan blue cheese. thanks!

GINA!!!!!!!!! I totally had to change my meal plan and go to the store during my lunch hour when I saw this recipe! These were absolutely amazing! Not too spicy...just the right flavor! The only thing I changed was to add a little parsley to the meat before cooking. Thanks so much for all the wonderful recipes!

Okay, since my husband makes THE best burgers and is particular about making them, but is also allergic to fins and feathers (don't ask!), I will be making these for myself when he is out of town! YUM!

This looks delicious. Wondering if this could be made with ground chicken instead?

P.S. I'm diabetic and have had to cut back on most of the foods I LOVE. Since my doctor and nutritionist told me to count carbs instead of sugar content, your recipes have been a Godsend. Thanks for this.

I just bought some Frank's Red Hot on amazon.co.uk because I had the same issue. I had to buy 3 bottles, but I really like using on all sorts of things so it wasn't a problem. :)http://www.amazon.co.uk/Franks-RedHot-Original-Cayenne-Pepper/dp/B0005YWH2U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338217143&sr=8-1

I made these last night--really delicious. I used Bolthouse blue cheese dressing for the slaw (1 PP for 2 tbls!!!) and rather than buying the slaw, I made it myself in the food processor. Grilled the burgers, but they kinda fell apart. Any suggestions for next time? I'm thinking that pan-frying them would help...

I made these last night, and they were so yummy! Supper easy, and tasty... Can't get a better meal than that! Thanks Gina for all your receipes! You have allowed me to enjoy cooking, and actually love what I cook!

Generally I'm not a fan of turkey burgers, but I gave them a go last night and the flavor was excellent! I was also a bit skeptical about carrots in a burger, but I didn't even notice they were there. This is sure to become part of my regular rotation.

In NYC broccoli slaw isn't always readily available and the market I popped into had only regular coleslaw mix, so I purchased that instead. I was also lazy and bought reduced fat blue cheese dressing. The flavor did not suffer. Next time Greek yogurt and blue cheese is on sale, I'm giving your recipe a try.

I made these for supper tonight - wonderful!! My only piece of advice, invest in good quality blue cheese for the blue cheese dressing. I went for the down low, on sale blue cheese and the flavor was not strong. My husband and I both loved this recipe! thanks!

Wow, OP. Could you be any ruder? Gina works hard on this site, and is kind enough to post great recipes that she doesn't charge us for, like other sites would. Maybe you should take yourself and your precious pocketbook elsewhere.

This "anonymous" person is obviously the same person that posts a negative/rude comment on almost every one of Gina's recipes.OP - She posts a "surplus" of meat recipes because the majority of people DO eat meat. Secondly, how exactly is Turkey bad for us? That's a new one. Just because you may not eat meat, doesn't mean the rest of us can't, and doesn't mean that everybody should cater to YOUR eating habits. I suggest you google "vegetarian recipes" and stop being so rude.If there was a way to report your posts, I would.

P.S - Since when is eating meat bad for the environment? And why is it bad for your pocketbook? So it is cheaper to just eat vegetables? Funny, because produce is VERY expensive, yet I can buy a family back of chicken thighs or drumsticks for $6.

Not bad for your pocketbook if you shop smart. Cooking at home and staying fit is cheaper than having health issues from being overweight. Thank you Gina for making it easy to stay healthy and cook GREAT meals!

My husband is a big fan of anything with hot sauce so I made this over the weekend, minus the broccoli slaw. They turned out AMAZING! They were far from dry like regular turkey burgers usually turn out for me. Not sure if it was because of the carrots or the hot sauce or both. This recipe is def. a keeper!!

I brought your website up with the intention of looking for another recipe but got distracted and left the room - my husband came in and saw these on the main page and was like "PLEASE MAKE THEM FOR ME" so I did. And they were soooo good!

I LOVE THIS ONE!!! I plan and shop for meals two weeks at a time and 90% of the time, they are your recipes. You make it so easy to cook healthy and flavorful dishes that my husband and kids LOVE. Left the hot sauce out of some of the meat so it wouldn't be too spicy for the little ones but they gobbled their "hamburger cheese" up!!!

OMGHoly cow!!!!My family flipped over this!!! They absolutely loved it. The teenager loved it, hubby loved it and I made one sans hot sauce for my 5 year old and he said it was the best burger in the world. I can RARELY get him to eat any meat at all! You are fabulous. You should be famous!

I made these last night and all I can is they are freakin' amazing! The blue cheese dressing is fantastic too! This has become an instant favorite!A friend recently introduced me to your blog (three of us started Weight Watchers a few weeks ago) and I'm so excited to try everything out!

Gina,I am allergic to Turkey and I don't like Bleu cheese. Also, I don't really like burgers, and my husband hates rolls. Can I make this with beef, into a meatloaf and put ranch dressing on it? Some people's comments and questions really crack me up.

If you don't eat certain things, make the necessary substitutions, or just don't make the recipe!

Loved these! I only had Sriracha sauce in the fridge. Wasn't sure if that was similar to Frank's Hot Sauce so I decided to cut the quantity in half and add some Chipolte grilling sauce for the other half. Delcious! Just the perfect amount of kick. I topped with light mayo cut with dijon because I didn't have brocoli slaw on hand. My husband and I each lost 10lbs since January following your recipes. We are at our healthy goal weight now and am enjoying maintaing it with your inspiring recipes!

I made these burgers last week and they were wonderful! Only change was I used regular coleslaw mixed light ranch and it was great! My three year old said "mommy I love these spicy burgers!" Will make again!

These were so delicious! My boyfriend and I gobbled them up and I can't to make my leftover frozen one this week! They were ridiculously easy to make. I can't handle a lot of spice and these were perfect as is. Thank you Gina!!

I really enjoy your recipes. I made this yesterday and both my 4 year old son and I enjoyed it! The flavors were great. I added a small amount of Frank's hot sauce since I didn't want it spicy for my son. Next time I will make 2 batches because I do like a little kick in my food. Also I was not able to find brocolli slaw anywhere so I just used regular cole slaw and it was delicious!

I made made buffalo turkey burgers last week (with pre-made, frozen turkey burgers, just sprinkling the franks red hot on top while cooking) and then melting bleu cheese on the top. I can't wait to try these homemade burgers, though, they sound amazing!!

I just made these burgers for my family and they were a HIT! We are trying to get on the healthy train after years of not doing so well, and we couldn't even tell the difference! These are definitely going on our favorite go-to foods list. Thanks!

My store doesn't carry broccoli slaw (or whole wheat bread crumbs for that matter :( ) I bought coleslaw instead. Was there a reason you chose broccoli slaw in terms of calories/health- I'm thinking that it shouldn't affect the points value since everything is made from vegetables but wanted to make sure.

For those wondering about the broccoli slaw -- I only recently discovered it after my aunt told me she had been using it in her salads. I started doing it too -- gives a salad a new texture and crunch, not just boring lettuce, and I really don't think it even tastes like broccoli.

I thought these were going to be just okay as I tried to make them on a George Foreman, and they burned a little. HOWEVER...they were amazing! I added some extra Franks on the bun, as I like my food spicy. My husband reported that they were just okay, but he's pretty hard to get a "good" out of. My 3 year old wolfed his down too. I didn't give him the coleslaw or extra Franks, rather ketchup.

Made these yesterday and they were yummy :-) Worried about finding substitute for Franks sauce in the UK, but Asda now sell it so it was full steam ahead.You must try them, they taste so good. Thanks for another amazing recipe.

Do you have the calorie count for just the buns and the burger? I'm not a huge fan of the brocoli slaw&blue cheese. Made it the other day like that and it was delicious just not sure how many calories it is!

LOVED this ... it was my first time making and eating a Turkey burger (they always looked so bland to me until this one) and i love anything Buffalo .. it was AMAZINGLY GOOD ... thank you ... will def be making them again

OH MAN!!! SO GOOD! I made these last night. Omitted the carrots simply because I didn't have any, and upped the onion and garlic a bit, using egg whites to bind it all together. It was soooo tasty! My mother in-law loved the slaw and asked for the entire recipe! TY Gina! This is a winner.

These are great! My only issue I had was I couldn't get it "buffaloy" enough. I might try the extra hot Frank's next time. Also, I really want to try this as a meatloaf in the fall with chunks of blue cheese throughout.

When you freeze your extra patties uncooked, do you thaw them before cooking? My kids LOVE these burgers....I've made this recipe several times and portion out a few patties before I add the hot sauce in. ;)

I typically try to follow recipes step-by-step the first time I make them, then I'll make adjustments the next few times. This is the third recipe I've tried from Gina, and I wouldn't change a single thing on all three of them. These burgers were delicious! Great flavor from the hot sauce and the onions and carrots kept the meat moist (which can be difficult with ground turkey). The broccoli slaw gave a really great crunch and added a nice texture. I'd make these over and over!

These are our go-to meal pretty much every time we feel like firing up the grill. My hubby loves wings and this gets him his fix without all the fried fatty-ness. And I LOVE how many veggies are used in it. So so good!

First off- how ingenious to hide carrots in the burgers?! Second- my husband said these were the best burgers he has ever had. I used what I had on hand and so I made a couple of changes. Did 1/2 lean ground beef and 1/2 turkey, used BBQ sauce instead of hot sauce, and added sauteed onions to the burger. Absolutely delish.

These were fabulous! Made them for the 49r playoff game. My husband's comment, "you hit it out of the park". I think he has his sports games confused. Served them with your sweet potato fries. Yum!! Thank you.

These were AMAZING! I made a couple for my kids before I added the buffalo sauce (2.5 & 5-not into spicy yet!) And added the hot sauce for us--hubby and I LOVED it! The BC dressing and slaw are equally amazing! Thx for ANOTHER craveable recipe!!! I added a celery stalk to the food processor w the carrots (that whole wings w BC dressing and celery sticks thing). Delish!

These were amazing. To save some time I just bought the carrots shredded and used Bolthouse yogurt blue cheese with the broccoli slaw (same calorie-wise) and the whole meal was just perfect. The boyfriend ate two.

Love this idea - we are burger (and buffalo sauce) fans so this is right up our alley. I like your idea of adding veggies to meat to increase vegetable intake - I'm guessing zucchini would be another good addition that would not be too overwhelming.FashionEdible Blog

Gina, I have been following your blog for about a month now. I decided back in February to adjust to a healthier, whole food, lifestyle. Your blog has been a God-Send!! I am so thankful for what you have done here. I was sitting here, eating a turkey burger tonight, and I just kept thinking, "There's no way this is under 400 calories." You have done something great here, and with your recipes and suggestions on your site, you have helped me to turn my life around. In about 2 months, I have lost a significant amount of weight, and you can accept at least part of the "blame".

Thank you so much for everything you do. You and your recipes have changed my life. I am healthier than I have ever been, I have more energy, and can enjoy life again. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. You should be proud.

Just made these last night on the grill and they were delicious! I love the idea of using shredded carrots in the mixture. My picky boyfriend even gave his seal of approval! Thanks for another great recipe Gina!

This isn't only the best turkey burger I've had, it's one of THE BEST BURGERS I have had! If you're afraid of it being too spicy, don't be! I do not do spicy at all and this wasn't very spicy. It is SO moist and juicy...we absolutely loved it.

These are INCREDIBLE! One of our absolute faves. However, no matter what I do, the burgers crumble and fall apart. I put them in the fridge last night for an hour after mixing - it helped some, but a few still crumbled. Anyone have any ideas? Does this happen to you?

This is the best turkey burger recipe I have ever made! I live alone so I made 2 (one for today, one for tomorrow) and froze 3! I doubled the onion and garlic, and used low fat blue cheese yogurt dressing for the slaw to save some money and skip steps. Worked out well!

Thanks for this recipe! I'm sure my frozen patties won't be in the freezer too long :)

Unbelievably good and so easy to make. Only change I made was using Boathouse Yogurt Ranch dressing for Slaw because I am not a fan of Bleu Cheese. I strongly suggest everyone make this recipe - and def make a double batch ;)

I made these for my picky husband last night and he LOVED THEM! I enjoy recipes where I can hide onions in, because he's not a fan. I also made your homemade blue cheese, which I loved... hubby was scared to try it, his loss! Will be making these on a regular basis :)

Hello skinnytaste! writing all the way from australia!! I must say - i have been using your site for a few months now for healthy dinner options and i am absolutely loving everything i have tried thus far! no disappointments!! i made these burgers last night (without the slaw because i think turkey burgers was enough of a shocker for the men in my life to make them eat broccoli coleslaw as well!!). i doubled the recipe (10 burgers...hungry boys) and fed them to my partner and his best mate, both of which swore up and down that they would never eat a non-beef burger. My partner came back for seconds and made sure i packed the leftovers for his lunch, and his best mate went back for thirds. amazing burgers! thanks so much for this recipe...im sure it will be on our summer nights list many many many times over!!

There was a question asked about a year ago and I don't know if it was answered and I just missed it, but can you use ground chicken instead of turkey? And thanks for all of the great recipes! I can't believe it took me so long to find your site! I've been on WW on and off for years after having my kids and it's the best site ever! Hope to see you around the 'hood one day soon!

I made these last night and the hubby and I loved them! I do wish I'd read all of the comments before I cooked them, as I would have reserved a couple of portions for the kids BEFORE adding the Frank's hot sauce. They were WAY too hot for me to even give the kids, but that's what hot dogs are for! :) Another keeper Gina, thank you!

Made these last night. The burgers were really good. We only used about half of the hot sauce it called for. Too much for us! I will say that the burgers took longer than 4 minutes per side to cook all the way through. I ended up tenting them with tin foil to get them to cook through. The broccoli slaw we were not a big fam of. Too tart and tasted too much of the blue cheese. Would need to fina substitue. Overall I would make these burgers again minus the slaw.

Made these last week, they were amazing; used OPA brand blue cheese dressing, which is a greek yogurt-based, low fat dressing. Followed the recipe exactly and it made 6 HUGE burgers, (not complaining!). My teenage son ate one cold for breakfast the next morning!! Thanks for a great recipe.

Amazing. Just made the patties--used 2 tbsp sriacha and only 1/4 cup crumbs. Did them on BBQ on a layer of tinfoil. Delicious. Made 5 patties and they were 123 calories each, without the toppings...amazingly low for burgers, and delicious. The carrot kept them moist. My daughter added them to her top 10 list! Thank you!

I just made these and they were absolutely delightful! I was a little skeptical, but I was proven wrong quickly! Next time I will add more Red Hot as I LOOOVE Red Hot! Thanks for another delicious meal idea!